Half-timbered houses and Bartholdi fountains: Colmar as a riddle trail
The Colmar scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk through the old town, solve a riddle at each of 10 landmarks and unlock the stories behind them. Only about 33 minutes of the game are spent walking, 2.7 km through compact lanes and along the Lauch, so its 2 hours leave plenty of room for looking, legends and a coffee, whenever you start.
Highlights include St Martin's Church, the Unterlinden Museum, the canals of Little Venice and the Fishmongers' Quarter, the Old Customs House and the fountains by Auguste Bartholdi, the Colmar-born sculptor of the Statue of Liberty. The compact centre of half-timbered houses is easy to explore on foot, and the riddles make you look closely at façades, statues and signs.
- Durationabout 2 hours
- Walkingabout 33 min · 2.7 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
Riddles between St Martin's and the Lauch
A tiled roof, a barrel and a customs house
Every stop sets a riddle you crack by looking: the coloured tiles on the roof of St Martin's, Jean Roesselmann on the fountain that bears his name, the Koïfhus of 1480 where goods were once taxed. A sharp eye and a little logic do the trick, and no knowledge of Alsace is needed.
Three fountains by the sculptor of Liberty
Auguste Bartholdi, born in Colmar in 1834, left his mark all along the route: he made the fountain of Admiral Bruat in the Champ de Mars, the Roesselmann Fountain and the Schwendi Fountain in front of the Koïfhus, and the last stop is his birthplace, now the Bartholdi Museum. The audio narration fills in the legends, from Roesselmann's barrel to the Tokay vine.
2.7 km through the old town
The whole walk is about 33 minutes over 2.7 km, mostly flat and often on cobbles, from the Unterlinden quarter down to the water. Google Maps leads the way through the half-timbered streets.
A winstub, a boat, a pause
No clock runs during the game, so you can stop at a winstub, take a boat along the Lauch or come back another day to finish. In December, when Christmas markets fill the old town, the game makes a welcome break from the stalls.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Colmar's riddle trail: who it suits
Visitors on the Alsace wine route
Many people see Colmar on a trip through Alsace, and a game of about 2 hours over 2.7 km takes in its church, museums, canals and fountains before an afternoon among the vineyards. The riddles point you to details on half-timbered façades that are easy to miss.
Families who like legends
Children love the story of the provost who, it is said, slipped into the town hidden in a barrel, the boats gliding through Little Venice and the house of the man who made the Statue of Liberty. One adult in each young team keeps an eye on the traffic.
Friends and clubs on a weekend away
Teams of up to 5 players, each on a separate phone, can set off from St Martin's at intervals and meet again by the Bartholdi Museum. The old town's public squares and quays are the whole playing field.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Teams of up to 5 work best; bigger groups split into several teams, one ticket per player.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The route: St Martin's, the Bartholdi fountains, Little Venice and the sculptor's birthplace
10 stops · about 33 min walking · start: St Martin's Church · finish: Bartholdi Museum
The hunt starts at St Martin's Church in the old town and heads north to the Unterlinden Museum and the Municipal Theatre, then south through the Parc du Champ de Mars to the Roesselmann Fountain. From there you follow the Lauch through Little Venice and the Fishmongers' Quarter to the Old Customs House, then continue past St Matthew's Church and finish at the Bartholdi Museum. Every answer is on a façade, a fountain or a statue in the street, so no ticket desk interrupts the game, and if Little Venice suits you better as a starting point, the app will open there and reorder the rest of the route.
Open the route map ↗
1St Martin's ChurchStart
Colmar's largest church was built in Gothic style from 1234 to around 1365 and is often called the cathedral, although it is a collegiate church. Look up at its 71-metre tower: a fire in 1572 destroyed the spire, and the Renaissance cap added the following year is still there, above a roof of colourful tiles.
2Unterlinden Museum
The museum occupies a 13th-century convent of Dominican nuns and opened to the public in 1853. Its most famous work is the Isenheim Altarpiece, painted by Matthias Grünewald in 1512–1516, and since 2015 the museum has a new wing designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.
3Municipal Theatre
Colmar's municipal theatre was built in 1847–1849 by the architect Louis-Michel Boltz on part of the old Unterlinden convent and opened in March 1849. Behind its classical five-bay façade is a rounded auditorium with three tiers of galleries in the Italian tradition.
4Parc du Champ de Mars
This large, shady park lies just outside the old town. In it stands the fountain of Admiral Armand Joseph Bruat, a naval officer born in Colmar, made by Auguste Bartholdi and inaugurated in 1864; its sandstone figures of the continents were destroyed in 1940, and the bronze admiral has stood on a new basin since 1958.
5Roesselmann Fountain
Auguste Bartholdi made this fountain on Place des Six Montagnes Noires, inaugurated in 1888, in honour of Jean Roesselmann, the provost who died defending Colmar in 1262. According to legend, Roesselmann slipped back into the town hidden in a barrel, and Bartholdi is said to have given him the face of the mayor of the time.
6Little Venice
Little Venice (Petite Venise) is the stretch of the Lauch river where colourful half-timbered houses stand right at the water's edge. From the bridges you get the classic view of the houses reflected in the river, and small flat-bottomed boats take visitors along the water.
7Fishmongers' Quarter (Quai de la Poissonnerie)
The Quai de la Poissonnerie takes its name from the fishermen and boatmen who lived and worked here, organised in a powerful guild, and sold their catch beside the Lauch. Its timber-framed houses were restored in the late 20th century and are now among the most photographed in Colmar.
8Old Customs House (Koïfhus)
The Old Customs House, also called the Koïfhus, was built in 1480 as the place where goods passing through Colmar were checked and taxed. In front of it stands another Bartholdi fountain from 1898, honouring Lazarus von Schwendi, who according to legend brought the Tokay vine to Alsace.
9St Matthew's Church
St Matthew's Church is the only surviving part of a Franciscan convent from around 1290, with the wide, plain nave typical of the mendicant orders. It has been Protestant since 1575; in 1715 the choir was walled off for Catholic use, and the dividing wall was only removed in 1987.
10Bartholdi MuseumFinish
The museum occupies the house where Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty in New York, was born in 1834. The family home was left to the town and opened as a museum in 1922, and in the courtyard stands his bronze group Les Grands Soutiens du monde.
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Alexandra– Germany –
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Aiden-Switzerland –
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Roxane– Canada –
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Andrew-USA –
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Germany –
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Austria –
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Clémence Rogister Loza Y– Belgium –
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Laura– Denmark –
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Very nice idea to get to see the most important attractions of the city in a fun way.
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Hannah– United States –
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If you only have a few hours in Luxembourg this is a really fun activity that allows you to see a lot of the city! My husband and I love puzzles and this was a great way for us to bond and see the sights!
Angela– United Kingdom –
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Sarah– Australia –
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Super easy to use app. Purchased this after seeing the GuruWalk reviews for the local walks. We paused the tour a couple of times as we got distracted by other sites. Easy to get back on track
Naomi-Portugal –
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LAHOCHE– France –
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c’était sympa
Germany –
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Nette, zeitlich machbare Tour. Die wichtigsten Spots werden in sinnvoller Reihenfolge abgelaufen. Alles fu?l?ufig erreichbar. Die R?tsel k?nnten gerne mehr oder anspruchsvoller sein. Super Tour, um die Innenstadt schnell und trotzdem ausgiebig kennenzulernen!
Audrey– Switzerland –
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Karin– Germany –
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Italy –
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Naomi-France –
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Naomi-France –
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Robbe– Belgium –
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Ok
Germany –
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Hat spass gemacht. Würde es wieder machen
Charlotte-Finland –
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Charlotte-Finland –
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France –
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Julian-Belgium –
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Julian-Belgium –
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Germany –
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Hat uns gut gefallen, wie auch schon letztes Jahr in Tarragona
Evelyn-Germany –
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Shelley– Georgia –
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It was very informative and fun.
Karine– France –
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Cette activité permet de se familiariser avec la ville de façon ludique en prenant notre temps. Parfait pour débuter un séjour.
Germany –
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Mexico-Jose –
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El recorrido es bueno pero falta poner pistas más interesantes. Me pareció que las preguntas son un tanto infantiles , pero la idea es buena. Gracias
Grace-France –
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Sascha– Germany –
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genial dass man die Highlights zu Gesicht bekommt und etwas Historie dazu. Die Aufgaben waren etwas zu einfach.
United States-Johnny –
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Genesis-Czech Republic –
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Australia –
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We found this little app to be a fun way to get a quick taste of Vienna. It is a lot of walking but you can go at your own pace. Good tidbits of information along the way. The riddles were fun and made you look at things carefully that you would normally ignore. A great activity for the price!
United States –
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It was great to do at own pace. For the cost a fantastic value which let you tap into some history and a feel for major events that shaped the city.
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Addison-Lithuania –
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Owen-Slovenia –
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Georgij– Germany –
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Die R?tsel waren eher simpel und hatten mit den Texten eher entfernt etwas zu tun. Auch waren diese leider auf Deutsch nur m??ig ?bersetzt. Wirkte ein wenig wie durch Google Translate gejagt. Auch die L?sungen f?r die R?tsel, welche wir angeblich in Deutsch eingeben sollten, waren dann teilweise auf Franz?sisch oder Englisch. F?r meine Frau und mich war dies eher ein witziger Umstand, aber allgemein betrachtet ist da nat?rlich noch Luft nach oben. Gerade mit Kindern stelle ich mir das etwas doof vor. Alles in Allem l?sst sich sagen, dass man f?r den g?nstigen Preis ein entsprechendes Angebot bekommt. Wir hatten Spa? und haben ein paar Ecken von Colmar gesehen. Zudem mussten wir uns keine Gedanken um eine Route machen und hatten ein paar (sehr einfache) R?tsel. Die Infos zur Stadt h?tten (und haben) wir uns allerdings auch gr??tenteils ?ber die Schautafeln holen k?nnen – und das besser ?bersetzt.